The “Royal” put on a splendid comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, won 3:1 after being down 0:1 and advanced with a total score of 3:2. The hero of the evening was Karim Benzema with a flawless hat-trick (61′, 76′, 78′), eclipsing his French compatriot and PSG goalscorer Kylian Mbappe (39′).
Man City drew 0-0 against Sporting Lisbon to advance after the first leg in Portugal ended 5-0 for the “Citizens”. FC Bayern and Liverpool had already booked the quarter-final ticket on Tuesday.
David Alaba also managed to do this with Real, although it didn’t look like it for a long time. The Madrilenians had a slight starting advantage, but the better scoring went to PSG from the start. Mbappe was denied by Thibaut Courtois in the 13th minute, nine minutes later Neymar also found his master in the Madrilenians’ goalie.
In the 34th minute, the hosts were lucky when an Mbappe goal was disallowed for a narrow offside by assistant Nuno Mendes. Five minutes later, the French world champion officially entered the shooting list. Real lost the ball in the opposing half, followed by a lightning-fast counterattack by the French. Neymar sent Mbappe on his way and the star striker, who was hesitant to attack from Alaba, surprised Courtois with a shot into the near corner.
Mbappe had already scored the decisive goal in the first leg. The 23-year-old, who was doubtful for the game due to a training injury, has been linked with a summer free transfer to the Madrilenians for months. Real also have an exceptional striker, as Benzema showed in his attempts next to the goal (25th, 37th).
At the beginning of the second half, Mbappe was still the focus. In the 54th minute, another goal by the Frenchman was rightly disallowed for offside, two minutes later Alaba prevented the attacker from completing with a spectacular tackle. The big Benzema performances followed a little later. PSG goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma was attacked while playing out Benzema and involuntarily carried the ball to Vinicius junior. The Brazilian put it down to Benzema and the French veteran made it 1-1 (61′). Just three minutes later, a Benzema header went just inches off target.
A little later, the 34-year-old managed the decisive double strike. First, Benzema scored after a counterattack and ideal template from Luka Modric with a shot deflected by Marquinhos (76th). At 3: 1, Marquinhos served the ball ideally for Benzema, the French international didn’t take long to ask and shot directly in the 78th. The Parisian star ensemble, which was bought from Qatar with millions of euros, has to wait for the first Champions League title.
In addition to Real, Man City is still in the running. Pep Guardiola’s team unwound a routine program in the 0-0 draw at home against Sporting, promotion was not in question after the 5-0 win in the first leg.
Source: Nachrichten
